Carl Lawson planning ‘to be even better’ once he puts knee injury behind him

The Cincinnati Bengals will hold their first practice of training camp on July 27. The Bengals will kick off their four-game preseason schedule on Aug. 10 against the Kansas City Chiefs. But the date on defensive end Carl Lawson’s mind is Sept. 8.

That's when Cincinnati opens its 2019 regular-season schedule against the Seattle Seahawks and when Lawson wants to have the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee completely behind him.

“I’m not coming out until I feel pretty much 100 (percent),” Lawson told John Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “The goal is the first game. I know what it’s like to get ready and be ready. I’m not really stressing pushing towards camp, but if I’m ready by camp, hell, yeah, I’ll be out there. But the goal is the first game.”

Lawson sustained the knee injury during the Bengals’ Oct. 28 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Lawson had torn an ACL before, but it was in his left knee and happened during spring practice at Auburn in 2014. He missed the Tigers’ entire season.

“I knew it was going to be like this as soon as I got hurt,” Lawson said of his second knee injury, “so it’s just a matter of time.”

The Bengals completed their offseason program last week, and Lawson didn’t get off the rehab field during the workouts. He called returning for training camp “a legitimate goal,” but he has his mind set on making sure he’s back for the season-opening game.

Lawson said “the explosiveness and twitch and all that stuff came back immediately because that’s part of my DNA,” so he expects to return to the field without missing a beat.

Lawson joined Cincinnati from Auburn as a fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft and led the league’s rookies with 8.5 sacks that season. That landed Lawson on the Pro Football Writers of America’s All-Rookie team -- and drew the attention of opposing coaches. Last season, Lawson had one sack when he went down for the year.

“I got a lot more attention (from blocking schemes),” Lawson said of 2019, "and even though the production wasn’t there, I thought I was a lot better than I was as a rookie.

"Once I get back, I'm going to be even better and focus really hard on doing the little things that will take me over the edge. When the time comes, I think I'll be better than I ever was."

The Bengals are preparing for their first season without Marvin Lewis as head coach since 2002. Zac Taylor returned to Cincinnati to take the reins of the Bengals, although Taylor's previous job in the Queen City was as the offensive coordinator for former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville with the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in 2016.

Taylor ascended to NFL head coach at age 35 after working for the Los Angeles Rams as assistant wide-receivers coach in 2017 and quarterbacks coach in 2018.

“I can definitely feel the new energy,” Lawson said. “It’s to be expected. It’s been a certain way for 20 years here -- I don’t know how long. New coach, younger coaches, different schemes, so, I mean, you can feel the energy.”

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